Ball Joints gone at 30K miles???

[V-man]

Went for my annual inspection Tues and guess what? The ball joints need to be replaced. The mechanic showed me the play in the front end-not even close to safety standards. What up with that???

 

[DrJC]

ball joints, 2500, 4x4

V-Man,



I'm also looking at new lower (worn) & upper (not worn out yet, but might as well change now) ball joints on my '96 with 111 K miles, most of which is on-road with much travel trailer pulling.



Do you, or any reader, know of ball joints with a grease fitting? My assumption is that this feature would promote longevity.

 

[rono]

Ball Joints

There was a post a few weeks ago saying that the

Moog brand ball joints did have grease fittings. A search for ball joints might identify part numbers etc...

Ron

 

[Dieselnerd]

I have been using a grease needle from time to time to inject some grease in my ball joints. So far so good.

 

[Red360]

Using a grease needle doesn't lube your ball joints. All it does is put grease on top of the joint. It doesn't replace the grease where the ball is in contact with cup.

 

[Dieselnerd]

Red360:

Not even with the axle raised off the floor to unload the joints? Are you sure about that? I can get a lot of grease in there with none coming out. That same topic was discussed last year and the thought was that you could get enough grease in there with a needle to make a difference. Anyone else have thoughts on this? If it isn't doing any good I don't want to waste my time doing it. However, my balljoints are still nice and tight at 63,000 miles.

 

[LSMITH]

I had mine replaced at 32K miles too. I have another 35K on it now and they are still tight. Seems that some trucks they go out right away and some last a long time.

 

[GeoVeo]

Moog ball-joints with these part numbers for '94 4x4 have grease fittings:



Upper: K8388T $27. 40 ea

Lower: K8607T $40. 70 ea



Got mine through CarQuest.



The only problem is the upper fitting can't be left in on a 4x4 due to the lack of clearance with the U-joint. Makes it a bit of a pain to flip-flop between the grease plug and zerk to grease the uppers. Looking for a zerk that might work

 

[V-man]

The mechanic said that the only front end parts he uses is moog and that they will have zerks. Too bad DC doesn't do things right the first time. I still love the truck, but think that 30k is toooooo soon to go bad. The guys at my club love it though-talk about "gettin-em BUSTED".

 

[DrJC]

30,000 mile ball-joints

Thanks, gang, for all the replies concerning greaseable ball-joints. My expectations were exceeded! The info is valuable and appreciated.

 

[Howard Durand]

Unless you have total faith in the mechanic, I woud get a second opinion. 30K seems a bit early to have that much wear in ball joints unless you have been over some pretty rough road.

I changed mine out at about 70k and even then only one was really worn enough to prompt me to do the work.

All of my miles have been on the highway. Some towing but most of the time unloaded.



If you do decide to change them out, shop around. I got a full set of Moogs delivered to my door for $135. 00

The trick is finding someone who will install them for less than $400. 00

 

[V-man]

Got the truck back Weds. . A little over $500 for the parts/work and front end alignment. The moogs have lower grease fittings but not uppers because of the u-joints for the 4wd. FYI, I was told last year by another inspection station that the ball joints were marginal and to go have them changed out while under warranty-never did. D/C isn't touching my truck-and I payed for it. Sort of a "put your $$ where your mouth is" thing.

 

[radixr]

Greasable upper ball joints

I believe it was illflem who drilled his upper ball joints from the side and installed zerks. I'm still looking for greasable u-joints for the front end.

 

[Shooter]

Originally posted by V-man

The guys at my club love it though-talk about "gettin-em BUSTED".

Just remind them of the Fords 4x's going through l/f axle bearing in less than 10k mi. Or the cackel and crackel from day one, or the rear pinion seals at 3k mi. The list goes on.



The OEM joints are lubed for life. That brings up a couple of thoughts. 1 - lubed for life if someone rememberd to put a dab of grease in when they assembled it. 2 - Lubed for life: thats the life.

While looking under my truck today I noticed a 3/16" of shiney metal on the lower ball joint stud where it extends from the rubber boot, both sides. I'll jack it up tomorrow and check the ball joints. 35k mi

 

[V-man]

Hey Shooter- let me tell you - I'm the only guy with a Cummins at the club, and let me tell you I really BUST THEIR BALLS / so I guess its a little payback. But thats OK cuz I still have a truck/not a go-cart!!!

 

[Ted Constantine]

A friend of mine has the answer to your problem V-man:



The ball Joints are the Moog 'Problem solving' brand i have them on my CJ-7 with a dana 44 front axle and they have the grease fittings on the edge of the ball joint and not on the top so you can run the grease fitting without worring about the u joint contacting them. If you go and find the 'problem solving' Moog ball joint line i think that will be your answer to the upper ball joint problem you guys are having.